Tennessee

American  

[ten-uh-see] / ˌtɛn əˈsi /

noun

1. a state in the southeastern United States. 42,246 sq. mi. (109,415 sq. km). Nashville. TN (for use with zip code), Tenn.

2. a river flowing from eastern Tennessee through northern Alabama, western Tennessee, and southwestern Kentucky into the Ohio near Paducah. 652 miles (1,050 km) long.

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Tennessee British  

/ ˌtɛnɪˈsiː /

noun

1. Abbreviation: Tenn.   TN.  a state of the E central US: consists of a plain in the west, rising to the Appalachians and the Cumberland Plateau in the east. Capital: Nashville. Pop: 5 841 748 (2003 est). Area: 109 412 sq km (42 244 sq miles)

2. a river in the E central US, flowing southwest from E Tennessee into N Alabama, then west and north to the Ohio River at Paducah: the longest tributary of the Ohio; includes a series of dams and reservoirs under the Tennessee Valley Authority. Length: 1049 km (652 miles)

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Tennessee Cultural  

1. State in the south-central United States bordered by Kentucky and Virginia to the north; North Carolina to the east; Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south; and Arkansas and Missouri to the west. Its capital is Nashville, and its largest city is Memphis.

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One of the Confederate states during the Civil War.

Example Sentences

The executive director of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, Mark Reeves, said in an interview, “Hopefully, we can hang on to what we got—some semblance of control and order.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026

Congressman Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee, has previously advocated for more governmental transparency on UFO sightings.

From BBC • May 8, 2026

Four babies were rushed to a Nashville, Tennessee, children’s hospital after they suddenly fell ill months apart.

From Salon • May 7, 2026

I filmed my last special at a very iconic Nashville venue, Ryman Auditorium, and I talked a lot about how I moved there, because I split my time now in Tennessee and California.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

The article reminded us that this was not a new issue in Tennessee.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson